Huawei Honor 4X review

The Huawei Honor 4X currently has an Informr score of 7.3 out of 10.
This score is based on our evaluation of 9
sources including reviews from users and the web's most trusted critics.

The "1-Minute" Review

What's good

Sturdy construction

Large display

Excellent battery life

Dual SIM support

MicroSD support

What's bad

Lackluster camera performance

Emotion UI 3.0

Screen viewing angles

Large for one-handed operation

Older Android OS (4.4.4)

The budget market for smartphones seems to be cranking out phones with bigger specs by the day. While Huawei has made some serious progress on establishing their brand, their budget offerings haven’t always hit the mark. They’re hoping to fix this with their latest release, the Honor 4X.

While the specs look good on paper, this doesn’t always provide the full picture. So we jumped in and analyzed reviews from across the web. Does the Honor 4X stand out and offer good value? Let’s dig in and find out!

Like many of its competitors, the 4X features an all-plastic chassis with a removable back plate. To help you keep your grip on this large handset, you’ll find a textured back that most reviews seemed to like. While they all noted that it wasn’t exactly a premium feel, it was much better than your typical budget phone.

Many reviews also pointed out how much they liked the placement of buttons on the phone. While a 5.5-inch phone isn’t ideal for one-handed usage, Honor’s placement of the power and volume buttons lower on the phone’s side seems to help. FirstPost noted, “Overall build quality is quite good.”

Of course, with a phone that large, you’re looking at a large display to go with it. The phones 1280-by-720 pixel IPS display received generally positive reviews. While most were quick to point out that this isn’t a flagship screen, they also noted that it was quite good for the price.

Times of India “noticed colour distortion when the screen was viewed at a tilt.” Trusted Reviews stated that “limited pixel density becomes fairly obvious at this size.” However, for color, brightness and day to day usage, the screen received rave reviews.

Powering the phone, you’ll find a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor and a dedicated GPU. Combined with 2GB of RAM, the phone did well with reviewers. Most mentioned the phone did warm up slightly under heavy use. FirstPost stated, “The user interface is quite smooth despite the Emotion UI 3.0 skin. I did not notice any slowdown of the phone while swiping through the home screen or switching between apps.”

You’ll find 8GB of internal storage with support for microSD cards up to 32GB to help you make the most of the big display. Reviewers noted that bloatware was kept to a minimum, so that leaves enough room for the standard social media apps and such. However, if you’re looking to play games or keep your media collection in your pocket, a microSD card will be needed.

One area where the phone shows its budget roots is the software. Running Android 4.4.4 KitKat with version 3 of Huawei’s Emotion UI, the handset is a full release behind much of its competition. Fortunately, reviews of the Emotion UI were generally positive. However, it does heavily stylize the default Android UI. Most reviews were on the fence about the missing app drawer and condensed options available.

Reviews on the 13MP rear camera and 5MP front-facing camera on the 4X are a mixed bag.

Virtually every review praised the quality of the images as well as the color and light balance of images. PhoneRadar declared that it, “captures brilliant pictures in bright light, and doesn’t disappoint in low light as well.”

Unfortunately, this comes at a cost--camera performance. This isn’t a rapid-fire SLR or even your average point-and-click. Many reviews noted a delay in autofocus times, a complete failure to capture images on occasion and the lackluster interface of the phone’s camera app. Trusted Reviews called the camera “annoyingly slow.”

One nice perk to the budget-friendly phone is dual SIM support. Both slots support 4G LTE though you can only enable one at 4G speeds at a time. However, if you’re looking to consolidate work and business phones or you’re planning to travel, it’s a rare perk in this price bracket.

Providing juice for the phone, you’ll find a 3,000mAh battery. Even among flagship devices, that’s a pretty massive battery. Reviews on battery life reflect this as well. While it is unclear if the device will receive Android updates, an update to Lollipop could further improve the already stellar reviews.

TrustedReviews declared, “You should be able to get away with charging it every other day unless you stream video or play games.” However, reviewers stated that even power users should find a full day’s use with no problems.

In all, reviews for the phone are positive. While the camera and screen resolution were mentioned by most, the sheer value in terms of performance and features won most reviewers over in the end. TechRadar summed up reviews well, calling it, “A powerful big-screen experience and an advanced feature set make the Honor 4X a budget winner for anyone other than the most resolute of Android purists.”

What the Critics Are Saying...

It’s not the fastest in gaming or raw specifications, but the basic, stripped-back UI certainly makes it feel highly responsive. The screen isn’t the sharpest around, but it’s vibrant and very usable. The back is textured plastic rather than a sleek aluminum unibody, but that isn&r...

- Alan Martin, Alphr

Honor has once again delivered a very capable smartphone that embodies the company's value for money ethos. The breakaway brand's rapid rise to prominence is exciting for consumers and a major headache for other manufacturers.In the majority of areas the Honor 4X performs significantly better than r...

- Tomos Ellis, TechRadar

Here’s an affordable phone that offers many features at a great price. The build quality even feels better than the LG G4 (P24 which costs double the price). Huawei isn’t yet a big name over in the West, but phones like the 4X are helping it head in that direction.

- Alex Yau, What Mobile

The points of criticism are not noticed much in everyday use, and so we give the Honor 4X a purchase recommendation as a solid mid-range smartphone with many assets.

- Michael Moser, Notebookcheck

The screen worked very well in the sunshine and camera shots, when you took a bit of care to compose the photo, came out rather well. I will admit that, despite that octa-core 1.2GHz CPU, it did struggle in places. In Gmail, when I opened quite a long thread, it seemed to suffer a little and took a...

If your Honor 4X has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Huawei support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Huawei's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.

Rate It:

Critic Reviews

A phablet for less

It’s not the fastest in gaming or raw specifications, but the basic, stripped-back UI certainly makes it feel highly responsive. The screen isn’t the sharpest around, but it’s vibrant and very usable. The back is textured plastic rather than a sleek aluminum unibody, but that isn’t a big negative...

It’s not the fastest in gaming or raw specifications, but the basic, stripped-back UI certainly makes it feel highly responsive. The screen isn’t the sharpest around, but it’s vibrant and very usable. The back is textured plastic rather than a sleek aluminum unibody, but that isn’t a big negative.

What has been especially startling is the reaction from people who have had a go with the handset when I’ve been out and about. Friends with a casual interest in smartphones – even those with top-of-the-range flagships – have been in turn complimentary and then positively flabbergasted when they hear the price tag. They’re left wondering why they’re paying so much when a phone of such good quality can be had for so little.

The Honor 4X may not be as good as the iPhone 6 Plus or Galaxy Note 4, but it’s a bargain: a genuine big-screened alternative to the Motorola Moto G.

Capable phablet that delivers on a budget

Honor has once again delivered a very capable smartphone that embodies the company's value for money ethos. The breakaway brand's rapid rise to prominence is exciting for consumers and a major headache for other manufacturers.

Honor has once again delivered a very capable smartphone that embodies the company's value for money ethos. The breakaway brand's rapid rise to prominence is exciting for consumers and a major headache for other manufacturers.

In the majority of areas the Honor 4X performs significantly better than rival budget devices, combining excellent performance and a multitude of features with impressive build quality.

Good design and decent battery life at an affordable price

Here’s an affordable phone that offers many features at a great price. The build quality even feels better than the LG G4 (P24 which costs double the price). Huawei isn’t yet a big name over in the West, but phones like the 4X are helping it head in that direction.

Here’s an affordable phone that offers many features at a great price. The build quality even feels better than the LG G4 (P24 which costs double the price). Huawei isn’t yet a big name over in the West, but phones like the 4X are helping it head in that direction.

Solid mid-range smartphone with many assets

Honor's pithy slogan "Power up" on the product website likely relates to the good application performance of the 64 bit SoC and the very long-lasting battery. The phablet admittedly did not achieve the manufacturer's specified runtime of 48 hours, but up to 7 days in the ultra-energy saving mode seems quite plausible....

Honor's pithy slogan "Power up" on the product website likely relates to the good application performance of the 64 bit SoC and the very long-lasting battery. The phablet admittedly did not achieve the manufacturer's specified runtime of 48 hours, but up to 7 days in the ultra-energy saving mode seems quite plausible.

The smartphone also shines with its generous configuration: A bright HD IPS screen, high-speed LTE Cat.4 and stable Wi-Fi, dual-SIM functionality, and regularly updated as well as smooth and intuitive to use software are also appealing. Furthermore, the installed camera modules shoot decent pictures in good light. The plain design of the rigid casing rounds off the good impression.

An excellent handset for the price

The screen worked very well in the sunshine and camera shots, when you took a bit of care to compose the photo, came out rather well. I will admit that, despite that octa-core 1.2GHz CPU, it did struggle in places. In Gmail, when I opened quite a long thread, it seemed to suffer a little and took a little while longer than I’d like...

The screen worked very well in the sunshine and camera shots, when you took a bit of care to compose the photo, came out rather well. I will admit that, despite that octa-core 1.2GHz CPU, it did struggle in places. In Gmail, when I opened quite a long thread, it seemed to suffer a little and took a little while longer than I’d like.

The battery life was actually pretty impressive, especially considering the abuse I gave it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had battery life remaining at 8PM and here there was actually no need for me to hook up a mobile charger. Honor told me that this was a handset that “actually delivers two days usage” from one full battery and, if you’re not a crazy user like me, I can completely agree with that. Stick the “ultra power saving” mode on and you can crank it up to 7 days of usage.

Good display, decent camera, brilliant battery life

Overall, the Honor 4X is good among the budget 4G smartphones available in India. At Rs. 10,499 it’s bit costly compared to the Yu Yureka that offers better performance and more internal storage, but the Honor 4X offers better battery life. Even though the smartphone was initially launched...More

Overall, the Honor 4X is good among the budget 4G smartphones available in India. At Rs. 10,499 it’s bit costly compared to the Yu Yureka that offers better performance and more internal storage, but the Honor 4X offers better battery life. Even though the smartphone was initially launched through flash sales on Flipkart, it is now available for purchase immediately on Flipkart. The company also sells the limited edition variant of Honor 4X with power bank and earphone bundle at the same price on Flipkart for a limited period occasionally. The phone comes with 15 months manufacturer warranty and the company offers warranty even if the phone is rooted.

An honorable option

The Honor 4X is an average performer packed in a fresher design. With similar hardware to its rivals, the Honor 4X performs exactly at par with them and it does a few things differently but isn’t completely flawless. Phones with similar hardware are priced much cheaper but if you have an af...More

The Honor 4X is an average performer packed in a fresher design. With similar hardware to its rivals, the Honor 4X performs exactly at par with them and it does a few things differently but isn’t completely flawless. Phones with similar hardware are priced much cheaper but if you have an affinity towards a larger display and can’t do without a 13MP camera, the Honor 4X is a worthy option.

Not a bad package at all

If the camera matters more to you than other features in a smartphone, and you are specifically looking for a 4G phablet, then the Honor 4X is a good handset. The lack of Gorilla Glass is disappointing, so you will need to invest in a good screen protector. But overall, the Honor 4X isn’t a bad package.

If the camera matters more to you than other features in a smartphone, and you are specifically looking for a 4G phablet, then the Honor 4X is a good handset. The lack of Gorilla Glass is disappointing, so you will need to invest in a good screen protector. But overall, the Honor 4X isn’t a bad package.

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